SAVE THE DATE: NYC Climate Week Youth Panel (September 20th!)
I’m super excited to share that I’ll be hosting a virtual youth panel (via Zoom) for this year’s NYC Climate Week (Sept. 20-26)!
Join me and the three amazing panelists, Chante Harris, Paige Curtis, and Kiana Kazemi on September 20th at 6pm ET for a discussion on environmental justice and how youth can mobilize to fight the climate crisis.
Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DhdKoBnXTFuS0YAxbUl9NA
More Info About the Event!
A note on why I wanted to get this event out there:
Three years ago, I was a high school freshman looking at the climate space from the outside in. I saw a lot of youth signing petitions, marching, and speaking out– but I wanted to understand how activism translates to action.
For this year’s New York City Climate Week, I set out to spotlight youth taking action towards a healthy future. The panel’s three amazing speakers have experience spanning climate finance and innovation, climate tech, climate communication, and community-based climate solutions. I hope you are inspired by the myriad ways each speaker is working to tackle climate change, and encouraged to join in the fight to build a better future. Lastly, I encourage those of all ages to apply climate-forward techniques to their respective lines of study or work, and take away concrete steps for climate action!
What Topics Will Be Discussed?
The panel will address the following themes:
1. Environmental Justice: Black, Brown, Indigenous, People of Color, and migrant communities bear the brunt of climate impacts. When designing and implementing climate solutions, we must engage the affected groups meaningfully in order to create a future in which everyone can thrive.
- How can youth help forge equitable climate solutions that incorporate affected communities?
- Addressing the climate crisis is an opportunity to address many of the systemic issues that we face today including racism, sexism, and income inequality. In what ways can we combine solutions to the climate crisis with those addressing other systemic issues?
2. Youth Mobilization and Calls to Action: Our generation will have to contend with the worsening effects of climate change. More than ever, it is essential for youth to mobilize rapidly to transform our world into a healthy, livable, and sustainable one.
- How can we motivate more youth to address the climate crisis? What types of initiatives are needed to prepare the next generation of climate warriors?
- How can the climate crisis be more accurately portrayed in news and media? What under-discussed messages must youth help highlight?
- Ahead of November’s COP26 conference, how can young people send a clear message to decision-makers?
- For the young people out there who are looking to make a difference: what resources or organizations can youth turn to? How can each individual find a niche to contribute meaningfully towards advancing a comprehensive and just climate solution?
Who Are the Speakers?
The panel features Chante, Paige, and Kiana, three motivated young women with diverse perspectives and experiences committed to forging a sustainable and equitable future.
Chante Harris (Senior Manager of Venture for Climate Tech, Second Muse)
Chante Harris (LinkedIn) currently leads the investor network and corporate partnerships for Venture for ClimateTech, a climate tech venture studio and accelerator sourcing the best climate tech solutions across the globe. She also oversees the For ClimateTech Global Innovation Challenge and is spearheading the exploration of a thesis for a new financial mechanism funding early stage climate tech alongside the 2M Capital team.
Named by America on Tech as an Innovator and Disruptor in tech policy and Women Enews as a Pioneering Woman in Sustainability, Chante is passionate about urban innovation, building sustainable cities, cross-sector collaboration, and tapping into community to launch better solutions, initiatives, and technologies. She has worked to scale nationwide campaigns, technologies, and ideas for the Obama Administration, Fortune 500 companies, and startups. Most recently, she launched and grew two new practice areas at an urban and political strategy firm based dedicated to business strategy and sustainability. With deep expertise in developing go-to-market strategies for startups and established companies across the sustainability industry, she brings unique insight into building ecosystems with a shared vision for people and the planet. Chante is also a Venture Partner with Republic and NextGen.
Paige Curtis (Communications and Culture, Boston Ujima Project)
Paige Curtis (LinkedIn) is a writer, working at the intersection of environmentalism, Blackness, and pop culture. She’s worked at mission-driven organizations and is currently in a communications role at the Boston Ujima Project. An Atlanta native, daydreamer, and rabble-rouser, she believes a more equitable future is possible. Formally trained in Environmental Management from the Yale School of Environment, she’s most excited by community-based solutions to the climate crisis. When she’s not writing or biking around Boston, she’s reminding folks that pineapple pizza is not only good but oh so necessary.
Kiana Kazemi (Community Operations, Intersectional Environmentalist)
Kiana Kazemi (LinkedIn) is an environmental justice advocate and intersectional engineer passionate about democratizing access to environmental education and justice-based action. Outside of writing, organizing, and ideating for a just and joyful future for all, she loves to partner and build coalitions with others to create community spaces online and in person, mini versions of the future she hopes to see.